The first tranche of the new Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme (SFIS) will open on Tuesday 21 July 2026, with farmers given six weeks to get applications submitted before the deadline of 11.59pm on Thursday 3 September 2026.

The scheme offers 40% grant aid on investments from £3,000 to £62,500, so the maximum grant payable is £25,000 per farm business.

The £40m scheme is being delivered across “a number of rounds over the next three to four years”, with applications to be submitted via DAERA online services.

There is no need to provide quotes as part of an application and unlike previous schemes, there isn’t a value-for-money element, where farmers were more likely to be successful if they applied for a lower rate of grant.

Instead, each eligible item is listed alongside a reference price and the maximum grant available. However, it is still a competitive process, with applications scored and each item given its own score “based on the benefits it can bring”.

LESSE

Given the current focus on getting ammonia down by use of Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment (LESSE) and plans to make it compulsory for all cattle farms over 50 livestock units to use the technology by 2030, LESSE and non-LESSE items will be ranked separately.

However, farmers who received support to buy LESSE under the previous Farm Business Improvement Scheme are not eligible to purchase the equipment under the new scheme. A similar condition applies to those larger farmers already legally required to use the equipment.

Non-LESSE

Among the non-LESSE items, the highest scores are generally for those which will improve precision management on farms – the likes of automated calf feeders and GPS-ready fertiliser sowers and sprayers, all score highly.

The highest scoring item is for a slurry flow rate monitoring system when spreading slurry. There is also a range of livestock handling equipment, virtual fencing technology, cultivation equipment and ammonia-reducing slat rubber, but no cattle trailers.